Assessing impact of disability awareness training using the Attitudes Towards Disabled Persons Scale (ATDP--form 0)

Prototypes as an Indirect Measure of Attitudes Toward Disability Groups

A prototype is an ongoing, cognitive representation of common attributes and distinct characteristics that define an object or person. This mixed-method study applies the robust concept of prototype to examine perceptions of disability groups. Core, secondary, and tertiary prototype characteristics are described for six disabilities: schizophrenia, mental retardation, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, spinal cord injury, visual impairment, and hearing impairment. Similarities and differences among disability group prototypes are identified. The potential relationship between prototypes, attitudes, and subsequent judgment biases is explored. Examining prototypes might be an effective method for indirectly measuring attitudes toward disability groups. Implications for rehabilitation counseling practice and education are discussed.

Does Special Care Dentistry undergraduate teaching improve dental student attitudes towards people with disabilities?

INTRODUCTION

Undergraduate dental curricula increasingly aim to address student attitudes towards people with disabilities. This study reports the effectiveness of a comprehensive, blended learning Special Care Dentistry undergraduate programme to change attitudes towards people with disabilities.

METHODS

A validated psychometric instrument (ATDP-Form 0) was given as a course evaluation to third-year dental students in the Dublin Dental University Hospital over 3 years from 2010 to 2013, immediately before and after the delivery of a brief comprehensive curriculum in Special Care Dentistry.

RESULTS

From a population of 109 students, 100 (91.7%) pre-test and 83 (76.1%) retest responses were analysed. Mean score before the course, for all years, was 74.8 (SD = 14.7), compared with 76.8 (SD = 14.0) for all years after the course.

CONCLUSIONS

Dental students in our study had neither particularly positive, or negative attitudes towards people with disabilities. There was no statistically significant difference in student attitudes before and after the educational intervention. This study, therefore, shows that a comprehensive undergraduate blended learning module, which aimed to improve attitudes towards people with disabilities, did not do so, using the described measures within the selected timeframe.

Interventions aimed at increasing knowledge and improving attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities among lay people

Despite policies aimed at ensuring equal rights and maximising respect and social inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, in their daily lives many continue to face negative attitudes and discrimination within society. Misconceptions about what it means to have an intellectual disability and about the capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities appear widespread, and may contribute to prejudice and discrimination. This review provides a summary and evaluation of empirical interventions aimed at increasing knowledge and targeting negative attitudes towards this population among lay people of working age. An electronic search using PsycINFO, Web of Science and PubMed identified 22 English language studies published between 1990 and early 2014 that reported a specific intervention with a lay population sample. The majority of studies reported promising outcomes, particularly those aimed at increasing knowledge of intellectual disability through education. Support for the positive influence of contact with people with intellectual disabilities was demonstrated across several interventions. Interventions delivered at least partly by individuals with intellectual disabilities, and educational interventions appear to hold the most promise. The evidence is limited though by the weaknesses of measurement tools employed.

Attitudes towards disability in an undergraduate nursing curriculum: a literature review

In the process of introducing a new disability unit into an undergraduate nursing curriculum in a New Zealand educational setting, the opportunity arose to conduct a small study comparing the attitudes of student nurses towards people with disabilities. This paper discusses the literature reviewed, which formed the basis for the study. A range of perspectives and research was identified that explored societal and nurses' attitudes, disability studies in undergraduate nursing curricula, the impact of nurses' attitudes on patient care, and interventions for changing those attitudes. Effective nursing care can be severely compromised through negative attitudes, and concerns are expressed at the lack of attention given to this issue in nursing curricula generally. The literature showed that combining educational approaches with opportunities for student nurses to interact with disabled people provides the most effective means for student nurses to develop positive attitudes towards disabled people. The goal for nurse educators is to ensure the inclusion of disability studies as a core component in undergraduate nursing education.

The effect of curriculum on the attitudes of nursing students toward disability

Societal attitudes toward people with differing abilities are often based on a lack of understanding, fear of the unkNown, and stereotypes learned from others. Nursing students enter their educational programs with similar attitudes and experiences. Attitudes of nurses are key to how they respond toward individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. The nurses' attitudes affect the individual client's understanding of the disability and his or her self-concept as he or she adjusts to major life changes. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify whether a change in curriculum and experience had an effect on nursing student attitudes. Using the Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) Scale, a pre-post study of 42 nursing students' attitudes toward individuals with disabilities was conducted. Tests were administered as the students entered their senior year and took the chronic illness course, and again at the completion of the senior year. The students' attitudes were significantly more positive at the completion of their senior year. The findings suggest that education about, and experience with, individuals with disabilities positively affect the attitudes of nursing students toward individuals with disabilities.

Student nurse satisfaction levels with their courses: part I -- effects of demographic variables

Recent years have seen an increased emphasis on the monitoring of the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. This has led to more attention being paid to evaluating student perceptions of their learning experiences. This article (Part I of two on the subject) examines the factors that influence student satisfaction with their modular courses. Seven factors categorized into two sets are scrutinized: Part I investigates the effects of four demographic variables, while Part II explores the effects of three academic (educational)-related variables. In this report, the study research design, tool and sample are described, and an analysis of the demographic variables of gender, disability, ethnicity and age-bracket is undertaken, whereby their effects on performance and satisfaction levels of students are considered. Employing a questionnaire, data from 460 students attending various multidisciplinary health care modules at the School of Health Care, Oxford Brookes University for the first term of the academic year 2000/2001 were analysed. The questionnaire was found to be reliable and there were no differences in satisfaction between students who provided their registration numbers and those who did not, suggesting that the results are generalizable to the greater student population of the School of Health Care. The study found no differences in performance or satisfaction levels according to gender, but disabled students indicated less satisfaction although the differences were not significant. Fewer students of 'non-white' ethnicity felt that their learning experience was intellectually stimulating, and that the information about their modules was satisfactory and readily available. Student age significantly predicted performance and 'mature' students performed better and showed higher satisfaction than 'traditional' students. The findings and their implications for nurse education and curriculum design are discussed, with support from a growing number of studies investigating student nurse satisfaction and quality issues of learning and teaching in higher education.

Disability as an equal opportunity issue within nurse education in the UK

Whilst equal opportunity policies, related research and subsequent curricula changes over recent years may have begun to have a positive impact in some areas of nursing education and practice, 'disability' struggles for recognition as an equality issue. Disabled people, making up approximately six million of the UK population, experience discrimination as part of their daily lives and this is also evident in the nursing services they receive. Far from challenging discrimination, nursing education may simply sustain the negative dominant ideological view of disability. Drawing comparisons with 'race', which has an established equal opportunity dimension, this paper explores disability equality, which is relatively neglected in nursing curricula. From this review it is argued that nursing as a profession has a role beyond patient care in influencing public perceptions concerning disabled people and should take more positive steps in promoting social justice by challenging discrimination. Stakeholders in nursing curricula and nursing practice have both legal and professional responsibilities to ensure that nursing and nurses become part of the solution to disability discrimination. Including disability in equal opportunity policies and strengthening their impact on pre and post registration nursing curricula, provides nursing with a tangible opportunity to do just that.